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Don Davis

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Don Davis has been the Forum Communications Minnesota Capitol Bureau chief since 2001, covering state government and politics for two dozen newspapers in the state. Don also blogs at Capital Chatter on Areavoices.

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ST. PAUL — Karla Bigham says she will work with people of both parties as she begins her term in Minnesota's closely divided state Senate. The Cottage Grove Democrat took the oath of office as senator Tuesday, Feb. 20, an hour before the Legislature convened for 2018. The special election she won last week kept Democrats just one vote behind Republicans, 34-33. Bigham said voters in a Feb. 12 special election sent the message that they want a bipartisan senator.

ST. PAUL — Wellstone Action has trained thousands of "progressive" candidates and campaign workers, and claimed to have helped 1,000 get elected. Their website describes the group's mission: "Founded to carry forward the work of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, we arm progressives with the strategies and skills to win. We develop political leaders. We strengthen movement organizations. We ignite change." In 2012, the group's then-executive director, Ben Goldfarb, told Forum News Service that the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone's name was a key.

ST. PAUL—Ice seems simple enough: Get water cold enough and it freezes. True, but the science of ice is much more complex, especially when it is in real world bodies of water. Scientists agree on a couple of things: No ice is fully safe and the thickness, and thus safety, of ice can vary greatly in a very short distance.

ST. PAUL—Joel Schaberg can be forgiven if shivers go through his body when he thinks back to that early December 2017 day. "We got sick of waiting for the lakes to freeze over," Schaberg recalled about an early-season ice-fishing adventure. "It felt safe and it was shallow, so if you fell in it was no big deal." But Forest Lake, in a Minnesota town of the same name, was not ready for ice anglers, as he and a friend discovered. They thought they were ready, knowing the dangers. They did not just walk onto the lake, but used kayaks instead.

ST. PAUL -- Political organizations targeted a pair of Minnesota special legislative elections, only to see voters opt for no change in political power. A Democrat will replace a Democrat in the state Senate while a Republican takes over for a House Republican after elections Monday, Feb.

ST. PAUL — Michelle Fischbach may remain Minnesota lieutenant governor and a state senator -- for now at least. A judge dismissed a lawsuit against Fischbach, R-Paynesville, Monday, Feb. 12, saying it came too soon. Ramsey County Judge John H. Guthmann wrote that the suit by Destiny Dusosky, who lives in Fischbach's district, "lacks ripeness," adding that her claim "is premature and based on speculation."

ST. PAUL — Last week's precinct caucus governor straw poll has taken its second victim: former St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. "I am grateful for the support and encouragement I have received," the Democrat said Monday, Feb. 12. "So, it is with a heavy heart that I announce today the suspension of my campaign for governor of Minnesota." State Rep. Paul Thissen of Minneapolis dropped out of the race the day after the Feb. 6 caucuses.

ST. PAUL — Gary Wayne Jackson Jr. has pleaded not guilty to killing his 23-month-old son early this year. Jackson appeared in federal court in St. Paul Monday, Feb. 12, and entered his plea during a brief arraignment. Federal Magistrate Judge Leo Brisbois gave a federal prosecutor and Jackson's attorney a March 5 deadline to file motions. A hearing on motions is planned in front of Brisbois March 26 in the Duluth federal courthouse.

ST. PAUL — It is dangerous to draw too many conclusions from precinct caucuses, especially from non-binding straw polls conducted there, but one fact stands out from this week's caucus night: Almost three times as many Democrats showed up at the Tuesday, Feb. 6, caucuses than Republicans. That could be a scary fact for the GOP, whose loyalists are known for turning out.